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About The Hesperian / (Lincoln, Neb.) 1885-1899 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1895)
6 THE HESPERIAN i I hfii B ! monjy to have come from the pen of Chan cellor Canfiold himself. That article I recommend for perusal and study to every oneMvho is interested in University athletics, and without further parley I herald the fact that I am ready to champion that article in every respect saving one, and that is the idea expressed in the last article, numbered 16, which 1 do not necessarily favor at this juncture. How Chancellor Canfiold evor conceived of these ideas I do not know, for I do not think that he has had a largo, amount of ex perience in athletics, but they are there in print as his suggestions. I strongly sus pect that the Chancellor, while wo thought he was not paying any particular attention to these matters, has been studying them, and has been looking into the methods in vogue in other institutions.' I strongly sus pect that his suggestions are not entirely original with him. They are too perfect to bo original with anybody, and 1 say that Chancellor Canfield's ideas are essentially the same as those adopted at the Univer sity of Michigan. Before I get to discussing the merits of this proposed scheme lwant to dispose of one matter, which I apprehend will be tho feature meeting the most opposition at tho hands of those who will not think favora bly of these ideas, and that is the proposed interference of tho faculty in athletics. At Nebraska, as far as I know, the stud ents have never been interfered with at all in their athletic arrangements by the fac ulty, and that seems strange, for in most institutions it is quite the roverso. At Ne braska, if the manager of a team wants to take a trip to .Denver, for instance, he would not think of asking permission of the fac ulty, even if the trip was to be made on school days. He takes it that permission is granted as a matter of course, and that all that is required of a student is to pass hie examinations. Now, because tho faculty has boon lenient in the past is no reason why they may not take the reins in their own hands in tho future, as they have an unquestioned rjglit to do. I do not sanction a course of action in which wo go ahead blindly in a matter" and then have to look askance to. see if' there is a nod of approval from the fac-' nlty, and in which, on tho other hand, wo are compelled to ronouhco our contract' arid ' plead that it was ultra vires, if it chances to meet with their disapproval. Such deal ings bring upon us tho woll-dedorvod con tempt of other colleges. "What wo want is to have our faculty holpfnl and enthusias tic in athletics. Wo want thorn in our coun sels; we need thoir advico and co-operation, and it is my experience that if faculty and students work together, half of the trou bles that ordinarily beset an athletic mim agomont are dispensed with. Some of tho pleasantest recollections of my college course at Ann Arbor aro those that ariso at tho thought of our athletic meetings, when wo talked and discussed matters of thd greatest interest to tho Uni- " versity with certain members of the faculty. It was then wo learned that tho interosts of faculty and student aro almost always iden tical, and in no instance, even after the hottest debates, was tho voting done upon what in politics aro called party lines. Our past experience at Nebraska in ath letic management can be of little service to us. It can only show what must be shunned and avoided. I pronounce it a sad com montary upon our intelligence that wo should have a board of fivs members select tho players on a team. That is democracy, for sooth. Whoever originated that scheme, in the language of Mr. Nye, must have had a prognathous jaw and tho low, retreating ' forehead of the pickerel. I do not believe that there is another college in tho United States whore the captain does not havet'he sole power of selecting the team. As tor myself, I beliovo in delegating power to a man and looking to him for tho responsi bility, and when that is done tho captain b more likely to be tho best man for his po sition than under thopresont system, if the captain has this groat powor ho has its i . -. . n- i , Ji
